The global vaccines market was estimated at $32bn in 2016 and is expected to reach $61.6 bn by 2024.
The vaccines market is anticipated to witness strong growth owing to the proliferation of chronic diseases, growing population, rising R&D investment, and support from various stakeholders such as UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund), GAVI, PAHO (Pan-American Healthcare Organization), WHO (World Health Organization), and government agencies.
Based on product, the market is segmented as live attenuated vaccines, inactivated vaccines, subunit vaccines, toxoid vaccines, conjugate vaccines, DNA vaccines. The inactivated vaccines contain the antigenic part of the pathogen which is required to elicit an immune response. This segment is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period due to advantages such as long shelf life and high stability
The Ebola outbreak in western Africa was declared as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the WHO International Health Regulations (2005)”. The WHO estimates that the Ebola cases reported in Sierra Leone were 14,124, Guinea-3,811 cases, Liberia-10,675 cases. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 people were vaccinated in 2014-15, by products manufactured by Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and GlaxoSmithKline, however these drugs are yet to receive the final approval from the U.S. FDA. To address the high unmet needs, The GAVI Vaccine Alliance and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation have entered into a USD 5 million advance purchase agreement to support the development of Ebola vaccine stockpile.
In 2016, North America accounted for the maximum share, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. Pricing is a key factor impacting the market dynamics in developed and emerging regions. The high-income countries due to the high healthcare expenditure can afford the technologically advanced products. However, the low-income and developing nations cannot procure the high-end products. The introduction of generic versions is crucial to meet the growing demand for vaccines across Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East regions.
The key market participants include Novartis AG, Sanofi Pasteur, Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, plc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd., and others.